Middle East Experience

The hassidic rebbe died Monday night at the age of 64 from COVID-19.
Source: Jerusalem Post
Full Article: Ultra-Orthodox violently clash with police at funeral of hassidic rebbe

Turkey's foreign minister will visit Azerbaijan, a close ally, on Tuesday for talks on the conflict in the ethnic Armenian separatist region of Nagorno-Karabakh, the foreign ministry said in a statement.For all the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.Mevlut Cavusoglu “will pay a working visit to Azerbaijan on October 6,” the ministry said. He will meet with President Ilham Aliyev and “also exchange views on the present situation in the Armenian occupied Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan” with his Azerbaijani counterpart.The visit comes a day after Russia, the United States and France called on Armenia and Azerbaijan to agree an “unconditional ceasefire” after the neighbors began shelling major cities in an escalation of their conflict over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region.The clashes broke out on September 27, re-igniting a decades-old conflict between the ex-Soviet neighbors over Karabakh and threatening to draw in regional powers Russia and Turkey.Azerbaijan and Armenia have ignored international calls for a ceasefire and a return to long-stalled negotiations on the region.NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said on a visit to Ankara on Monday he expected Turkey to use its “considerable” influence to calm the conflict.Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has expressed full support for Azerbaijan in its campaign until it takes back lands it lost in a war in the early 1990s that killed 30,000 as Nagorno-Karabakh broke away.He said on Monday Azerbaijan was “responding to an attack and saving Karabakh from its occupation.”“We, Turkey, say that we are always on the Azerbaijan side,” Erdogan said in a televised address.“As long as the Karabakh issue is not resolved, it will not be possible to end the unrest and conflict in the region.”Read more:Syria’s Assad blames Turkey’s Erdogan for Nagorno-Karabakh violence: RIAAzerbaijan leader demands full Armenian withdrawal, apology before any ceasefireAzerbaijan claims advance in Karabakh, Armenia vows historic struggle
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Turkish foreign minister to visit Azerbaijan amid Armenia tensions: Ministry

The United Arab Emirates’ total coronavirus cases surpassed 100,000 as the country recorded 1,061 new cases on Tuesday.Read the latest updates in our dedicated coronavirus section.The total number of cases in the UAE was 100,794, while the total number of recoveries was 90,556 after 1,146 new recoveries were reported.Additionally, six deaths were reported, bringing the total number of deaths to 435.The country has conducted 102,379 tests in the past 24 hours.On Monday, the UAE reported its lowest daily figure since September 28 with 932 new coronavirus cases.Read more:Coronavirus: UAE reports 932 COVID-19 cases, lowest daily number since September 28Coronavirus: UAE could reimpose lockdowns as COVID-19 cases rise, official says
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Coronavirus: Total UAE COVID-19 cases surpass 100,000 with 1,061 new cases

A paper-based coronavirus test developed by a team of scientists in India could give patients results in less than 60 minutes.The test, originally reported on by the BBC, would cost around $6.75. It is named Feluda after a famous Indian fictional detective and is based on a gene-editing technology called Crispr. So far, the team has tried the test on about 2,000 patients, including some who had previously tested positive for coronavirus.“This is a simple, precise, reliable, scalable and frugal test,” Professor K Vijay Raghavan, principal scientific adviser to the Indian government, told the BBC.Read the latest updates in our dedicated coronavirus section.In India, the standard PCR testing kits have not been readily available and the antigen tests that have been used as an alternative, but they have a problem with reporting a false negative.But the new test, developed by researchers at the Delhi-based CSIR-Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology (IGIB), could be cheaper and more accurate than the antigen tests and could produce results in an hour.“The new test has the reliability of the PCR test, is quicker and can be done in smaller laboratories which don’t have sophisticated machines,” Dr Anurag Agarwal, director of IGIB, told the BBC.Read more:Coronavirus: Experts weigh in on politely asking someone to wear a maskBiden slams Trump over reassuring remarks on COVID-19Where PCR tests have to be sent to a laboratory to be tested, the Feldua test uses Crispr, which is short for Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats. Crispr is a gene-editing technology that is used to detect the virus.While primarily used to prevent infections and treat some diseases like sickle cell, when used as a diagnostic tool, the gene-editing “Crispr technology latches on to a set of letters of a gene carrying the signature of the novel coronavirus, highlights it, and gives a read-out on a piece of paper,” the BBC reported.Similar paper strip tests that can be cheaply mass produced are also being developed in the US and the UK.
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Coronavirus: Scientists in India develop paper-based test, gives results in an hour

At least 11 people were killed and dozens more were wounded on Tuesday in an explosion in the northwest Syrian town of al-Bab, which is under the control of Turkey-backed opposition factions, hospital sources told Reuters.For all the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.A witness said the blast occurred when a large truck bomb went off in a crowded area in the town. Videos and images circulated by activists on social media showed large plumes of smoke rising from the blast site, along with several fires and damaged buildings.The videos and images circulated by activists showed several wounded people being carried away from the blast site, while firefighters tried to put out the fires.A nurse in a local hospital told Reuters that 11 people had been killed. A doctor at a local hospital said at least 14 people were killed and 40 more were wounded.Several buildings were damaged in the blast and collapsed onto onlookers, two witnesses told Reuters. People were being pulled out of the rubble, they said.Read more:Turkey urges world to stand by Azerbaijan in Nagorno-Karabakh conflictCoronavirus: Iran’s Rouhani cancels top meeting amid fears of contracting COVID-19Full transcript: Prince Bandar bin Sultan’s interview on Israel-Palestine conflict
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Eleven killed, dozens wounded in blast in northwest Syria

Egyptian authorities' pursuit of Sinai-based terrorists may be expanding to cells near the capital.
Source: Al Monitor
Full Article: Are Sinai-based terrorists shifting to Cairo?

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s growing incitement, the deepening economic crisis, the battle over demonstrations and ultra-Orthodox coronavirus infections are taking Israel several steps closer to a civil war.
Source: Al Monitor
Full Article: Is Israel heading toward civil war?

The UAE has started re-issuing visas for domestic workers to enter the country and resumed issuing entry permits for employees of government and semi-government organizations and other vital sectors, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Tuesday.“The resumption of this service is within the framework of strengthening the country's efforts towards supporting recovery plans, the economy as well as the tourism industry. It is also in coordination with the National Emergency and Crisis and Disasters Management Authority,” MOFA said in a statement.Visit our dedicated coronavirus site here for all the latest updates.The country had suspended issuing all types of work permits in March as part of the government’s efforts to contain the spread of the coronavirus.The ministry said applicants can submit their applications via the website of the Federal Authority For Identity and Citizenship. They should also present a negative coronavirus test upon arrival to the UAE.Employers are required to ensure that their arriving employees enter a 14-day quarantine period.The Authority “will continue to allow entry of domestic workers of all nationalities with valid residency permits as well as government, semi-government and vital sector employees, provided that their employers submit applications via the authority's website (ica.gov.ae).”The UAE’s coronavirus tally stands at 100,794 confirmed cases, 90,556 recovered patients and 435 deaths as of Tuesday, according to the Ministry of Health.For all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app.Read more:Coronavirus: Dubai amends travel protocols, eliminates some requirementsCoronavirus: Dubai reduces COVID-19 PCR test to 250 dirhams across the emirateCoronavirus: Dubai shops can deny entry to customers violating COVID-19 precautionsCoronavirus: Over 700 beachgoers in Dubai fined for violating COVID-19 precautions
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: UAE resumes issuing visas to domestic workers, entry permits for government employees

The Blue and White party is challenged by the anti-Netanyahu Black Flag movement, which is gaining tremendous momentum.
Source: Al Monitor
Full Article: 'Black Flag' anti-Netanyahu movement turning Israel upside down

Egypt's inflation has fallen to some of its lowest levels in well over a decade, potentially triggering consultations with the International Monetary Fund under the conditions of a new $5..
Source: Albawaba
Full Article: Deep falls in Egypt's inflation could prompt IMF consultation